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Ready, Set, B-School: Hitting the Books

"To decide if one needs such a course, Regan suggests self-reflection. 'There’s a self-assessment element,' he says. 'Ask yourself, "How am I going to react in this high-powered environment full of very, very smart people?"’ Succeeding in business school is dependent on doing the work well but also having resiliency and confidence, and sometimes, says Regan, students can work on developing those traits before school begins in a quant course like his."

MBA's Guide to a Successful First Year on Campus: How to Hit the Ground Running

MBA Math's Peter Regan categorizes incoming first years in terms of quantitative preparation needs. He describes the MBA Math course and highlights the importance of arriving prepared because the breakneck first year pace makes catchup work difficult to fit in.

"The basic math is mostly algebra. Everyone could do it in high school, and they probably had no phobias or confidence issues whatsoever at that time. But later in life, as they went away from it, they got less comfortable with quant things," says Regan. "What we need to do is take the rust off and introduce it to them in a reasonable way, broken down in simple steps. It's not that hard to do if it's well laid-out and well taught to bright students."

MBA Math is endorsed by Military MBA for officers pursuing an MBA

The MBA Math primer has proven its worth to military officers. According to Darin M. Souza, a Tuck MBA student and United States Military Academy (USMA) graduate: "The web-based tools are perfect for a JMO transitioning to business school." A former Army officer added, "I served for five years in the Army...and made extensive use of this course before starting graduate school."